teach.run.pray.

There are only a few more days left in 2016. I'm sitting in our recliner, in a very quiet house (minus the snoring dogs next to me), feeling guilty for not being "productive." I keep thinking, "I should be taking down the Christmas tree. I should be unloading the dishwasher. I should be completing the online classes I've signed up for. I should be reading. I should be finishing a crochet project I started. I should be..."  Instead, I'm sitting and contemplating and reflecting, and I'm equating those actions to laziness. Why am I doing this to myself? Why am I calling myself lazy for contemplating my life and reflecting on the things that make my life full and happy? My goodness, if more of us did this, maybe we wouldn't be living in a shallow, self-absorbed, consumer driven, immediacy addicted world. What can I do to make myself less shallow, less self-absorbed, less consumer driven, less addicted to all the immediacies of the world? As I...

"We have three types of friends in life: friends for a reason, friends for a season, and friends for a lifetime." The above quote has been a weight on my mind lately. I've thought about it many, many times before, but for some reason, this time it's lingering. It's yanking at my heart. Maybe, it's the time of year - I'm always very emotional during the holiday season. Maybe, it's recent events. Maybe, it's because I'm a very sensitive sentimental individual. Or, maybe, it's because I'm a deep thinker and worrier. Or, it could be a nostalgia for the past. I'm not sure the reason, but it's lingering like a saturated cloud of sadness. This quote resonates. If I were to  make a three column list, I could classify each and every friend I've had and have into one of these categories. The category creating the saturated cloud of sadness is friends for a season . Seasons come and go - which means this category represents friends...

On November 8th before I went to bed, I prayed for peace in the hearts of Americans and closed my eyes without knowing who America's next President would be. On November 9th, I woke up and grabbed my phone. My heart skipped several beats when I read the election results. My eyes swelled with tears. "Donald Trump is our new President, Matt. Did you know that?" His reply, "You didn't have to tell me that this morning." My response, "I think I'm going to cry." He scooted closer, wrapped his arms around me, and kissed me on the cheek. After a few minutes of sulking, I got out of bed and carried on with my day. On my drive to work, my brain didn't stop churning. I started thinking about the movie Idiocracy and comparing American society. In my mind, this satirical comedy had become America's reality. Then, I thought about walking into a southern, rural elementary school the day after Mr. Trump won the election. And, I had a flashback to ...

A few weeks ago, I received an email stating I had been signed up for The Ron Clark Academy Experience. My immediate response was, "YES!! I'm so excited." Later, I realized it was on a Friday at 8:15 a.m. in Atlanta, GA, so I thought, "I'll spend the night in Atlanta." Then, I found out my principal had gotten a district mini bus, and we'd all be riding together. This meant leaving the school at 5 a.m., which meant a 3:30 a.m. wake up call for me, which meant getting home at 9 p.m., which meant an incredibly LONG day. Honestly, I was less than thrilled about the travel arrangements. But, I sucked it up. And, I'm glad I did. The bus ride there wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated, and I wasn't nearly as tired as I thought I'd be. We did arrive at the academy late due to Atlanta traffic (go figure). However, the day flew by. My husband texted midday. Our banter went something like this: Husband: Hopefully you aren't having...

Over the past two months, four friends have lost their father. Steve was one of them, and I admired him both as a husband and dad. His youngest daughter is one of my best friends; on my wedding day, she sang as I walked down the aisle. Allie and her family have impacted my life tremendously with their family values and fun loving spirits. I pray when I have a family of my own that our values bond us together the way Allie's family has bonded together.  Anyway, on a Tuesday afternoon, I was coaching a group of young ladies at Girls on the Run. I had missed a call and saw a text message from my friend's cousin saying there had been a family emergency. Immediately and frantically, I returned her call. All I could think was something had happened to Allie. When I heard the news, I was relieved (because my friend was safe and alive) and heartbroken, because Allie had lost the most important man in her life, her daddy. But, not only had she lost him, the world lost a genuine soul...

IEPs will be the death of me. They are the LEAST favorite part of my job, though, I know they are needed. Writing them can be time consuming and gathering data from "everybody and their mama" can be aggravating, but Google Forms have made my resource teacher life so much easier! In years past, I'd get teacher input through a hard copy feedback form (documentation, documentation). Then, among the thousands of things classroom teachers have to keep up with and complete, it would get lost, or I'd have to be the annoying one hounding them down for the form. Last year, I changed it up, and it was incredibly easier. GOOGLE FORMS, people! I created a quick check list in Google Forms based on elementary standards and foundation skills elementary students need in order to be successful in reading, writing, math, and social skills. Anytime, I needed teacher feedback for a transfer meeting, initial placement, or annual review I'd share the Google Form through email and l...

It has been awhile since I blogged about our Yellowstone trip from June. The first blog only covered our first day! So, I thought it was about time to share day two of the trip, because it was magical. Geysers were the theme of day two. Our first stop was Artists Paint Pots. It's a short walk on an easy, flat trail. Once you get to the Artist Paintpots, it's crystal clear how it got it's name. It's just geyser after geyser of brilliant color. In my mind, I envisioned God dipping his paintbrush into the "paint pots" and creating all the beauty we were surrounded by. Pictures and words cannot describe the scene. It was our first geyser experience, and it was breathtaking. The mud pots here were also very cool. They looked like a soothing hot tub of clay but smelled like a deadly fart.  On our walk back to the car, we met a family of three. They were admiring the silhouette of the mountains in North Yellowstone. From the trail was a perfect view of Mt. Washbu...

Write down all the things you do on a daily basis.  Weekdays Teach, teach, teach Exercise Spend time with Matt and our dogs Go to dinner with friends/spend time with friends Read Write Take online behavior classes Write resumes Weekends Long run Saturdays/Races Clean Hike Weekend trips whenever possible Read Write Yard work Eat Go to the farmers market & out to breakfast House improvement projects Spend time with Matt and our dogs Arbonne Take online behavior classes What are more activities you wish you could do more of that may not be on your existing list? Volunteer work Travel Hike more and write more Rock climb Categorize your lists into: Hobby, Job, Career, Vocation Hobby Job Career Vocation Run Hike Spend time with family/friends Read Travel Yard work Self improvement classes Clean Teach Writing resumes Arbonne Teach Volunteer work/advocating for other's rights Writing Is it feasible to move...

Last week, I signed up for Liz Gilbert's Creativity Workshop. Each section of the workshop assigns different writing tasks. The objective of the course is to guide the student toward their own creativity and the courage to act on it. Students are encouraged to share links to their writing on Padlet. As I was scanning padlet earlier today, I saw hundreds of participants from all over the world. It was inspiring to see so many people searching for their own way to express their own creativity. It was uplifting to see I am not alone in this lust for living creatively and meaningfully.  I labeled this post with teach, because I believe being a teacher (and human) that my learning should never stop. The more I learn the more knowledge I have to share not only with my students but to others in all crannies of life. I labeled it pray, because I've been praying for the courage to chase my dreams and dance with them.  After much debate with myself, I decided I would post each assig...